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Old 05-09-2015, 03:37 AM   #1
Scttw
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Question Several problems opening up season yesterday = Alpine

Hi Guys,

I sent an e-mail to my dealer - they are fantastic and will sort out my issues, it just might take another week or so.

I am pasting the e-mail so that if anyone can shed some light I would appreciate it. I stil do not understand the Electricity side of these 5th wheels and how the outside power works with the battery/inverter/converter to run different things.

Anyway - I would VERY much appreciate any help. Thanks in advance,

*************

I originally called because I could not get the Kitchen tip out to go out. All other tip-outs were fine. The 2 in the kitchen are Hydraulic driven where the rest are electric (battery). You choose which to move based on the valves you open and close in the hydraulic room. The appliance side of the kitchen is the only one that needs to be put out because the dinette side remained out all year because it is in our Florida room - same with that side of the raised living room.

Anyway - the proper valve is open and the switch did absolutely nothing - that's why I called. I wanted to see if I could do it manually for the time being.

But then .... a whole boat-load of other stuff we found out about. I know some of this is related to the relationship between the battery, and the inverter/charger ..... I do not believe any of that is working. Let me explain.

When we first came in everything worked all lights etc. Full fresh battery - on a 2amp all winter.

Switch for the spark for the GAS water heater did not turn on, so I flipped the switch on the back of the heater and we have hot water (electric). No furnace - the Thermostat had no power so no settings could be made (it was HOT when got here). No Fridge. Even though we can not open the doors because the tip out is closed we could have used the freezer but the fridge would not turn on. Neither did the level indicator for the tanks. This was ALL within the first 2-3 hours we arrived.

By the middle of the night we lost all lights. I assume because the battery has drained and it is not getting charged. Holding a wrench across the terminals confirmed this.

So how many of the above items are dependent on coming through the battery system and which will run off city power. TV stayed on all night no issues. All plug in's work because that is obviously city power driven.

Whether or not this is tied into the original Kitchen tip out I doubt since that was 5 minutes after arrival but I assume some of the others are?

I will call you this morning. Just wanted you to have a chance to read first.

Scott
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Old 05-09-2015, 05:25 AM   #2
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The lights, t-stat, fridge control, furnace control are all 12vdc. Your battery is dead, so none of these will work. If you are connected to shore power, the CONVERTER should be producing 12vdc to charge your battery and operate your 12v systems. If your battery wasn't fully charged or is defective and fails quickly under load, then it might have gone dead while moving the slides.
Did you have the battery disconnected? If so, is it connected correctly?
Black to pos- white to neg? If it has been connected incorrectly, you have blown the reverse polarity fuses on the converter.
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Old 05-09-2015, 05:46 AM   #3
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I wouldn't be holding a wrench across the battery terminals to test the battery. If the battery isn't dead, you could be.
But, maybe I didn't understand what you said.
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Old 05-09-2015, 05:58 AM   #4
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Along with what jsmith948 has mentioned .... if the 2amp charger you mentioned was not regulated and not a maintainer, you may have cooked your battery. Did you check the electrolyte level. Putting a wrench across the terminals didn't do it any good either.(also very dangerous) Do you have a battery disconnect switch???? As mentioned ... check the fuses on the CONVERTER main board and all 12v fuses in the power panel. JM2¢, Hank
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Old 05-09-2015, 06:03 AM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jsmith948 View Post
The lights, t-stat, fridge control, furnace control are all 12vdc. Your battery is dead, so none of these will work. If you are connected to shore power, the CONVERTER should be producing 12vdc to charge your battery and operate your 12v systems. If your battery wasn't fully charged or is defective and fails quickly under load, then it might have gone dead while moving the slides.
Did you have the battery disconnected? If so, is it connected correctly?
Black to pos- white to neg? If it has been connected incorrectly, you have blown the reverse polarity fuses on the converter.
TY Very Much J.

I traditionally went Black to Neg. But it still worked to operate the tip outs?

I have changed it back. There are 2 fuses in that area. one is a 10A and the other is 7.5. They both seem to be ok.

If I didn't fry the battery, how long will it now take to charge the battery? I assume the 12 V system will not work until it does?

Thx again
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Old 05-09-2015, 06:07 AM   #6
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BTW my converter FUSE in the panel is ok.

And Hank, The 2amp is a tender. It hardly kicked on all winter. I suspect the battery was fine.
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Old 05-09-2015, 06:28 AM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Scttw View Post
BTW my converter FUSE in the panel is ok.

And Hank, The 2amp is a tender. It hardly kicked on all winter. I suspect the battery was fine.
There are two reverse polarity fuses for the converter (40 amp I think) if you reversed the polarity they are blown and the converter will not supply 12v for charging until they are replaced. If the converter is working and plugged into shore power the "Battery" meter on the panel will read full while on shore power and the actual condition when shore power is removed. This will not be as accurate as a multimeter but a ball-park reading. Check the "converter" circuit breaker also in the panel.
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Old 05-09-2015, 06:43 AM   #8
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thx again,

So it sounds like I need to locate those 40amp fuses. They are not in the room with the battery and hydraulics. Where would I find the Converter?

The main fuee panel breaker for the Converter is Fine Hank.
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Old 05-09-2015, 06:58 AM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Scttw View Post
thx again,

So it sounds like I need to locate those 40amp fuses. They are not in the room with the battery and hydraulics. Where would I find the Converter?

The main fuee panel breaker for the Converter is Fine Hank.
The reverse polarity fuses (40 AMP) are located adjacent to the 12 volt fuse panel which is located next to your 120 volt circuit breakers. They all are located in the Power Distribution Panel which is "somewhere" in your RV. Look for a dark brown/black panel with a push button latch on the door. Behind it you'll find all of these things.

Once you open the door, you'll see the 120 VAC circuit breakers on one side and the 12 VDC fuses on the other. Between them are the two reverse polarity fuses. In the picture, they are the two "pink" or "red" fuses to the left of all the "blue" fuses.

Here is a picture of their location on a 30 amp power distribution center. Your 50 amp center is similar.
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Old 05-09-2015, 07:10 AM   #10
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Thx again John.

My panel is immediately inside door - your picture is exact EXCEPT the 2 pink ones are NOT there. The rest is pretty much identical to what you attached.

On the left are my breakers and on the right is 1 row of fuses - all 15s except the awening which is 20.

I need to figure out where the heck those pick ones are.
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Old 05-09-2015, 07:33 AM   #11
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Your converter should be mounted under or very close to the panel. You may have access from a storage compartment or you may need to remove the cover of the power panel itself. The reverse polarity fuses on some models are on the rear of the converter itself. You should have a manual for the converter in the stack of paperwork that came with the trailer. That will not show you where the converter is but it will show you where the fuses are and what size .... if that makes any sense. Keep searching, I think this is your problem. Good luck, Hank
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Old 05-09-2015, 08:36 AM   #12
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If the converter is not integrated into the power distribution panel, it is probably installed right behind it. REMOVE ELECTRICAL POWER BEFORE REMOVING THE DISTRIBUTION PANEL COVER !!!!!
Remove the power distribution panel cover and you should find the converter sitting behind it. It will have the two reverse polarity fuses on the front panel. Here is a picture of the 9800 series converter. You may find access to it inside the basement behind a panel rather than by removing the power distribution panel. Someone with the same model RV would be able to tell you exactly where the converter is located. Like Hankpage, I'm almost 100% certain that those two fuses are your problem.
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Old 05-09-2015, 10:13 AM   #13
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Thumbs up

I Love this site ..... and I love you guys more

I did remove the panel - but the separate converter was too far back to reach. I then took the side wall off the storage room and bingo - perfect access to 2 blown 40 amp fuses.

You guys know your Stuff that's for sure. I can NOT thank you you guys enough. Everything is 100% working again.

Cheers,

Going to go have a beer for you now

Scott
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Old 05-09-2015, 11:49 AM   #14
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Great you got it fixed
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Old 05-09-2015, 11:56 AM   #15
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Cheers .... I think I'll join you, Hank
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Old 05-11-2015, 08:18 AM   #16
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I will echo your thoughts. I love to troubleshoot and fix stuff on my own. This site has saved me on a couple of occasions. By the way, I also had issues with a system on my Alpine but it was an auto leveling wiring issue with remote rear sensor which I resolved. Yes, I also thought my converter was dead but checking the LCD on the auto leveling, the battery jumped from 12.3 to 13.6V as soon as I went on to shore power...Battery was junk at the end of the day. Glad you got it resolved!!!
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Old 05-11-2015, 11:24 AM   #17
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On my Alpine 2010 the fuses are on the end of the converter and it's under the shower of all places or behind the main panel if you pull it. I pulled the basement wall and climbed over the furnace to replace mine after a lightning strike.
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